Stop Motion: Craft Skills for Model Animation (Focal Press Visual Effects and Animation) [Paperback]

Susannah Shaw (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0240516591 | ISBN-13: 978-0240516592 | Publication Date: October 22, 2003 | Edition: 1

To make great animation, you need to know how to control a whole world: how to make a character, how to make that character live and be happy or sad. You need to create four walls around them, a landscape, the sun and moon - a whole life for them. You have to get inside that puppet and first make it live, then make it perform.

Susannah Shaw provides the first truly practical introduction to the craft skills of model animation. This is a vital book in the development of model animation which, following the success of Aardman's first full-length film 'Chicken Run',is now at the forefront of modern animation.

Illustrated in full colour throughout you are shown step by step how to create successful model animation. Starting with some basic exercises, readers will learn about developing a story, making models, creating sets and props, the mechanics of movement, filming, post production and how to set about finding that elusive first job in a modern studio.

* A full-colour, practical introduction to the craft skills of model animation
* Benefit from the advice of top international animators such as Nick Park and Tim Hittle
* The only book to provide a model animator with all they need to know to work in a modern studio

Editorial Reviews

Review

'A wonderful introduction to a rather complicated and unique art form.'
Ray Harryhausen director of The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, and Jason and the Argonauts

'Don't attempt stop motion before you read this book! Susannah has covered everything in this no-nonsense approach to the industry.'
Richard Goleszowski director of Creature Comforts and Rex the Runt

'Stop Motion contains a huge amount of valuable information for the budding stop-frame film maker. A great addition to the film craft library.'
David Sproxton, co-founder and Managing Director of Aardman Animations

'Practical, informative and full of quotes from key characters in the story of the stop-frame industry. I wish I'd had this book when I was a student.'
Joan Ashworth, Head of Animation, Royal College of Art

'When it comes to animating, this excellent book covers timing of movement, story development from idea to script, compositing you shots, editing and so on. Susannah's book will certainly make you want to get out there and get started on model animation.'
Pat Raine Webb, Animatoon magazine, February 2004

"...a mine of information. This book gives an unrivalled detailed technical overview of the subject."
The Times Higher Education Supplement

"...an attractive, easy to handle paperback with clear and concise text...This is the perfect book for anyone contemplating getting into model animation."
Dope Sheet

"This is a truly fantastic book. If you want to learn how to do stop motion animation film-making or to do animation well, read this book closely, do the exercises and follow the instructions. This book is beautifully laid out and illustrated with copious useful diagrams and photographs."
Focus magazine

Book Description

The complete, international guide to model animation!

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Focal Press; 1 edition (October 22, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0240516591
• ISBN-13: 978-0240516592
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #349,040 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Treasure Chest of Hard-to-Find Stop Motion Information, November 8, 2003

By 

Anaconda - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stop Motion: Craft Skills for Model Animation (Focal Press Visual Effects and Animation) (Paperback)

Stop Motion Animation is also known as "Puppet Animation". You may have seen it before .... movies like Nightmare Before Christmas, Chicken Run, and the classic works by master stop motion animator, Ray Harryhausen. You also may have seen stop motion used in TV commercials, like the Brisk Iced Tea spots (Bruce Lee, James Brown, etc.) or the Chevron talking cars commercials. Stop Motion uses real miniature puppets fabricated from various materials like foam rubber, plastics, metal, or clay (like Gumby or the singing California Raisens). The puppets are about the size of a Barbie-type doll with an internal wire or jointed skeleton. Using a movie camera or video cam, the puppets/figures are placed in front of camera, then the arms, legs, head, etc. are incrementally moved (animated) frame by frame. When the film or video is played back at regular speed, the puppets appear to be moving on their own.

Having been involved with stop motion, doing professional work for about 16 plus years, I can tell you that "how-to" information about this esoteric and arcane animation art/craft is indeed very rare today. This is because "computer animation" techniques are now dominating the animation market and the public does not see the hand crafted works of stop motion animation, as often. Susannah Shaw's book includes difficult to find information about the overall production aspects of Stop Motion/Puppet Animation. At the time of this review, there are no other books that covers the entire stop motion process as well as this book does. Do a search on the internet and you will see that published books specifically about stop motion production, are almost non-existent. If the author cannot cover a particular area in depth, she has provided a very comprehensive appendix of resources, materials, suppliers, and other informational sources where you can find out more about Stop Motion Animation. This book is a great introduction for beginners, students, intermediates and for schools or universities who wish to cover this unique animation craft in their curriculum. Get it now while it is available and you can help keep Stop Motion ALIVE in the new millennium!

You should also add these other books to your animation library: "Creating 3D Animation" by Peter Lord; "The Animators Survival Kit" by Richard Williams; and "Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas" by Thompson & Burton.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent practical guide, November 9, 2003

By 

Nicholas B. Hilligoss (Oakleigh, Victoria Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Stop Motion: Craft Skills for Model Animation (Focal Press Visual Effects and Animation) (Paperback)

This is probably as good a guide to the many craft areas required for stop motion animation as we're likely to get in one volume. More direct and individual than computer 3d animation, stop motion has two main traditions - as a special effects tool for bringing life to the impossible in the hands of masters like Ray Harryhausen and Jim Danforth, and as an art form with it's roots in a European puppet theatre tradition. It is this area of puppet film that stop motion is now most vigorous, as exemplified by contemporary masters like Nick Park and Barry Purves, and this book contains many direct quotes from professionals offering insights into their ways of working. The book covers the basics of writing the story, creating the characters, constructing sets and puppets, lighting, photography, and animation techniques at a level that is practical for a beginner or intermediate, with much to offer the more experienced animator. A fully comprehensive guide would need to be in six fat volumes, as many of the crafts involved (like armature machining, or cinemaphotography) need a book to themselves to fully cover those fields .
This is not a coffee-table book on the history and variety of stop motion, but a guide which will help the would-be animator to actually make an animated film.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent informative book, January 13, 2004

By 

M. Strange "Mixed Media Animator" (San Jose, Ca United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stop Motion: Craft Skills for Model Animation (Focal Press Visual Effects and Animation) (Paperback)

I am in the middle of producing my own stop motion film and this book has really helped guide my production.... from creating armatures to set construction to animation... this book has a little of everything for those of us who have chosen this "lost art" of stop motion animation. This is a great book for anyone that is serious about getting their stop motion film made... I am constantly referring back to it because it is loaded with useful information. So I would definetly reccomend this book to anyone interested in making their own stop motion animation.